So, I get back from Japan this weekend, I've been up about 30 hours
straight, used to sleeping on the other side of the world. So I go to bed Sunday night, after deleting
the horrific mountain of spam I returned to find, ready to write a column Monday morning, and, well,
more or less slept straight on through to Tuesday morning. Gah. Sorry about that everyone. In any case,
let's get on with the column!

I hope you can answer me this before you go to Japan because I'd rather not deal with Andrew. I was wondering, and you should know since you're heading to Japan, where I could find info on the Japanese lettering for specific words and names. I'm doing a drawing for Imperial Mog and he requested Japanese lettering of his alias and his real name in the backround. Unfortunately, I don't speak or write Japanese so he suggested I ask you or Andrew. So, do you think you could help me? It'd be MUCH appreciated. Anyways, thanks a lot and have a safe trip!

-True Illusion

Googleshng:
"I'd rather not deal with Andrew" you say? Why not? I've never seen him bite a reader's hand off or anything,
and he'd probably have checked with someone better than me on this. In any case, here
you go. The "O" spelling is for those who pronounce it "Mohg" and the "A" spelling is for the more
common "Mahg."

I dream of a world where nobody types in caps.

I HAVE A QUESTION! SKIES OF ARCADIA IS SUPPOSE TO BE ONE OF THE BEST (GIVEN 5*'s) RPG known to man for the DC. Since It's very rare to buy in stores I had to order it! (stinks cause I have a DC and can't buy a PS2) I haven't gotten it yet so before I get it I want to know how many CD's come with the game cause they might not have it complete! so I want to know before hand thanks!!

Googleshng:
It's a two disc game, although I have to wonder why you mention not owning a PS2, since the remake is
for the GameCube.

The cutest little elder god of all!

Someone wrote in yesterday about a plush Cthulhu they found in Japan,
but didn't buy it. In the interests of insanity, I'll point out that
they're also available in the United States. Gaming stores might let you
order one. (Rumor has it that sacrificing munchies to the plush Cthulhu
ensures good dice rolls.)

I'll even provide a link:
http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/plush_cthulhu.html

Googleshng:
Yeah, I'm surprised said person hadn't heard of them before now. Oh and hey, they seem to have discontinued
the Summer Fun Cthulu. Shame.

Look at them familiar faces...

Hey Google,

Welcome back. You were in Japan, right? I'd have payed more attention, but I'm a teacher, and teachers are usually, um, teaching and stuff. Did you see a friend of mine over there? I'm sure you did; he'd be easy to pick out among the other 100 million or so Japanese people. How's that jet lag? I can relate, because I'm back in the U.S.S.A. (heh) too! The great thing about waking up at 3:30am is that you can get in some uninterrupted gaming action. And face it, old Taco Bell burritos just taste better in front of a TV screen in the middle of the night. Hope you had a good time!

Ke Da-Wei

The evil Taiwanese Bushiban Teacher

P.S. I'll give you three guesses as to where I am right now. Here's a clue: Hell.

Googleshng:
I believe I mentioned how nasty jetlag is being to me up in the intro there. I'll get to work on posting
a detailed account of my trip on my page of rantings tonight too for those interested. In any case though,
three locations in the U.S. one might describe as hell eh? Let's see, this time of year I'd go with Texas,
Chicago, or Microsoft's home offices.

Bang bang slash slash.

I just wanted to remark since everyone's been talking about gunblades. It seems the Gunblade in question is Squall's, of course, and everyone compares them to an updateed version of a flintlock or something, talking about how hard it would be to aim witha dozen pounds of steel on the barrel. But did any of you actually SEE Squall fire any bullets in the game? Look at it, do you even see a barrel on the durn thing? So what is everyone talking about? My theory is the Gunblade in FF8 doesn't actually fire bullets, but uses concussion caps, blanks if you will, purely for recoil force to swing the Gunblade harder. Squall pulls the trigger midswing, blank fires, highly opressurized gas is expelled, pushing blade forward with more force, dealing more damage, showing recipient who there daddy is! Just thought I'd set the record straight. Oh, by the way, I hear Sword Of Mana for GBA may be released in early October instead of December. Is this true, I hope so. Thanks!

-Lerchimus *fully aware he said Durn* Primal

Googleshng:
While that's a pretty interesting idea, I seem to recall that you actually CAN see the barrel of Squall's
gunblade, tucked right in next to the base of the blade, where the kickback really wouldn't work to your
advantage. Of course, aiming wouldn't be a problem under those conditions, seeing how you're effectively
firing a gun while the bayonnet is stuck in your target.

As far as Sword of Mana goes by the way, it's still set for December according to every source I can
find.

Quickies

How many "Wow you're back google", "How you been", or "Don't leave us again" letters did you get today?

~rudyxx

Not all that many actually. Most such letters came in the middle of my vacation, or right after I left.

The Last Laugh:

For what it's worth, while I was in Japan I picked up a used copy of Dragon Force 2. I'm sure most of
you don't give a flying smurf, but the thin majority of you who do are probably having seisures, so feel
free to toss along some questions about it.

Oh yes, and I have to get this out of my system too. A pox upon Sony for not building their consoles to
last for more than a couple years.